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Fri, 09 Dec 2016 07:36:22 -0600Joomla! - Open Source Content Managementen-gbNo April Fools, Hearhttp://jazzreview.com/concert-reviews/no-april-fools-hear.html
http://jazzreview.com/concert-reviews/no-april-fools-hear.htmlAs anyone that’s closely followed the fertile NYC jazz scene—especially the “sub-scene” affectionately referred to as the “Downtown sound”—over the past five to 15 years or so knows, there’s a LOT of (relatively) young creative talent thriving there. “So what,” snorts your Inner Monologue, “New York is always awash in burgeoning talents—that’s why it’s the Big Apple.” True, but I refer to the lads and lasses of more recent generations, players and singers that happily and unashamedly embrace influences well beyond jazz and the Great American Songbook. Oh, many of the can play standards and the bebop changes with the…

As anyone that’s closely followed the fertile NYC jazz scene—especially the “sub-scene” affectionately referred to as the “Downtown sound”—over the past five to 15 years or so knows, there’s a LOT of (relatively) young creative talent thriving there. “So what,” snorts your Inner Monologue, “New York is always awash in burgeoning talents—that’s why it’s the Big Apple.” True, but I refer to the lads and lasses of more recent generations, players and singers that happily and unashamedly embrace influences well beyond jazz and the Great American Songbook. Oh, many of the can play standards and the bebop changes with the best of them—it’s just that they just refuse to be hemmed-in by a narrow definition of what’s supposed to be jazz. They play jazz that been marked by years of listening to hip-hop, rock, funk, classical music (“traditional” and post-1950s), Americana, and whatever. I speak of such swells as Josh Roseman, Chris Speed, Jim Black, Cuong Vu, Mary Halvorson, Donny McCaslin, and Ben Allison.

Acoustic bassist Ben Allison brought his band to Chicago: Rudy Royston, drums, Michael Blake, tenor saxophone, and Steve Cardenas, electric guitar. The Ben Allison Band is truly a modern jazz ensemble, one of today, not of any (idealized) era. The Ben Allison Band plays a brand of jazz I can only (and proudly) submit as “Americana” jazz—it’s post-bop that swings but the melodies and motifs therein come out of not of the Parker/Rollins/Coltrane continuum. These gents grew up listening to Sly & the Family Stone, the Beatles, Frank Zappa, Marvin Gaye, and Neil Young along with Miles, Albert Ayler, and Charles Mingus. Ben Allison’s compositions—the band played nearly all originals by Allison or band-members—are stalwartly groove- and melodic hook-oriented (like great rock, pop, or R&B songs are)—there are real tunes here (as opposed to simple frameworks for “blowing”) that leave plenty of room for individual expression. And express they did…

Allison reminds me of Charlie Haden and Richard Davis—not that he “sounds like” them exactly, but his approach is similar. Rock-solid yet buoyant, flexible, nimble, with a distinctive, assertive tone—that’s our Ben. Steve Cardenas is a rarity among young-ish jazz guitarists [sarcasm alert] in that he doesn’t evoke Pat Metheny or Bill Frisell—well, hardly at all. Cardenas plays with a thick, velvety cushiony texture to his playing that recalls Kenny Burrell, and his playing also courses with blues/country/rock riffs from Neil Young and the Band’s Robbie Robertson. (My friend noted that Cardenas’ six-string axe sounded at times like a Hammond organ…and it did, actually.) Rudy Royston is a fabulous drummer, laying down propulsive swing and rhythmic accents that buoyed not just the band but the music as a whole. Blake (known for his own bands as well as a long stint in the now-RIP Lounge Lizards) is a joy. His tenor is a hearty synthesis of Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane (naturally), and King Curtis—full-bodied, steely, bright, surging, a bit breathy, tender but never overly sweet. The Ben Allison Band played wonderfully as a unit—all got to shine but no one hogged the spotlight or engaged in mind-numbing meandering. As the old show-biz adage goes, the Ben Allison Band held the crowd in the palm of their collective hand.

Yeah, the place was packed…the place being Chicago’s Green Mill, one of the oldest bars in Chicago (legend has it that Al Capone, the John Gotti of his day, hung out there lots) and in the USA. It has plenty of old-school (as in early twentieth-century rococo décor), reasonably priced beverages, polite staff, and management that guarantees a quality listening experience. The latter means they insist their patrons maintain a respectful level of conversational volume while the band is playing…which means any rowdy, bellowing jerk will be unceremoniously ejected. The sound quality is always excellent and the cover charge rarely exceeds $12-15. The Green Mill is definitely one of the best places to hear jazz in this Windy City.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Mark Keresman)Concert ReviewsSat, 23 Apr 2011 19:00:00 -0500Earphonious Swamphony by BLOBhttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/free-jazz-avante-garde-cd-reviews/earphonious-swamphony-by-blob.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/free-jazz-avante-garde-cd-reviews/earphonious-swamphony-by-blob.htmlBack-when, there was a TV preview-trailer for the science-fiction movie The Blob (the original, not the 1980s remake) that scared the living [fill in blank] out of me. “The monster that can’t be killed,” screamed the icy voice-over. The Blob was this formless, massive organism that basically absorbed anything living that it touched, growing ever larger in the process. Around the same time (we're talking late 1950s), the scary monsters of free jazz and rock & roll were threatening the world,

Back-when, there was a TV preview-trailer for the science-fiction movie TheBlob (the original, not the 1980s remake) that scared the living [fill in blank] out of me. “The monster that can’t be killed,” screamed the icy voice-over. The Blob was this formless, massive organism that basically absorbed anything living that it touched, growing ever larger in the process. Around the same time (we're talking late 1950s), the scary monsters of free jazz and rock & roll were threatening the world, and to a similar degree they were looked upon as aberrations and threats to everything good and decent. Some citizens of the world were flipping their wigs [in the good way] over Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Ornette Coleman, whilst others pointed to them as harbingers of the end of Western Civilization Like the Blob, these musical demons expanded, contaminating many and disgusting others—some critics and record companies tried to “contain” the monsters, and while they’d “hurt” them a little they couldn’t “stop” them.

Bringing us, dear Reader, to BLOB, a band/collective of eclectic and seemingly disparate types that combine and commingle aspects of free jazz, rock, funk, free improvisation, sampling (of outdoor and “swamp” ambient sounds), and post-John Cage classical composition. “Form” in the traditional sense has been supplanted by group interaction and extended techniques (pushing instruments beyond their generally perceived capabilities). Which is not to suggest that rhythm, grooves, and a solid beat are abandoned—they are suggested, established, then ebb in and out like the tides. It often sounds like (and more importantly, feels like) BLOB as a band is sonically recreating wetlands at night, complete with the mystery, beauty, and flat-out creepiness.

John Lindberg bows and slaps and plugs in his acoustic bass into some electronics to incite it to spew gnarly, grungy-sound electronic effects. Ralph Carney, bless him, draws all manner of growls, wails, and shouts out of his battery of wind instruments. Ted Orr follows in the footsteps of six-stringers such as John McLaughlin (at his most extreme moments), Sonny Sharrock, and Raoul Björkenheim. Drummer Harvey Sorgen sizzles, crackles, spatters, and splatters. If you seek the head/solos/head format or music that follows “conventional” logic, you’re liable to be disappointed with Earphonious Swamphony. If you can imagine outtakes of Bitches Brew with Roscoe Mitchell in Miles Davis’ place or if Bernard Herrmann collaborated with Bill Laswell’s Material for the soundtrack of Cape Fear 2: When Frogs Attack, then this BLOB is ready for you and vice versa.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Mark Keresman)Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD ReviewsFri, 11 Mar 2011 06:00:00 -0600Sicilian Opening by Salvatore Bonafede Triohttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/straight-ahead-classic-cd-reviews/sicilian-opening-by-salvatore-bonafede-trio.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/straight-ahead-classic-cd-reviews/sicilian-opening-by-salvatore-bonafede-trio.htmlSalvatore Bonafede is a jazz pianist born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1962. If you’ll pardon the reference to Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, he made his bones at the Berklee School of Music, and with bosses Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, the late Lester Bowie, and John Scofield. He is of the generation(s) of jazz players from whom influences beyond jazz are not only not verboten, but to be relished and nurtured. To wit, Bonafede covers two slightly-off-the-beaten-trail Beatles' songs (w

Salvatore Bonafede is a jazz pianist born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1962. If you’ll pardon the reference to Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, he made his bones at the Berklee School of Music, and with bosses Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, the late Lester Bowie, and John Scofield. He is of the generation(s) of jazz players from whom influences beyond jazz are not only not verboten, but to be relished and nurtured. To wit, Bonafede covers two slightly-off-the-beaten-trail Beatles' songs (well-known to Beatles fans, but hardly heavy-rotation radio hits), “Blackbird” and “She’s Leaving Home.” The latter Bonefede and his trio open-up in the manner as one of the great Bill Evans trios might have...he muses about and caresses the melody, taking it to new places, while maintaining the yearning, melancholy qualities of the original. The Bonafede three give “Blackbird” a brisk, more up-tempo cast that’s like a cool, welcome splash of water in the face.

The opening track, “Sicilian Opening” is somewhat ironically named, as its punchy, jaunty, steady-rolling rhythms sound more like an intro to New Orleans. Drummer Marcello Pellitteri at times sounds like he’s on the borderline of too-busyness but, nope, he crisply propels the tune quite nicely, “leading” it far more than Bonafede does.

While SB acknowledges the influence of modernist piano aces Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner, I also detect that of Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976), the pianist “behind” the Peanuts cartoons. SB doesn’t so much “sound like” Guaraldi as he’s absorbed his gentle, genial melodiousness. Unlike some contempo-type jazz players, SB does not equate “attractive, pretty, and charming” melody with “selling-out.” Nearly all of Opening’s 12 tunes (mostly SB originals) are models of direct, concise construction. And if you think I’m suggesting he’s distancing himself from the jazz tradition, listen to the sublimely and richly bluesy, noir-ish “bbbb” (His spelling—honest), I like to think either or both Brubeck and Monk would approve. As do I.

Salvatore Bonafede is a jazz pianist born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1962. If you’ll pardon the reference to Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, he made his bones at …

Salvatore Bonafede is a jazz pianist born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1962. If you’ll pardon the reference to Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, he made his bones at the Berklee School of Music, and with bosses Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, the late Lester Bowie, and John Scofield. He is of the generation(s) of jazz players from whom influences beyond jazz are not only not verboten, but to be relished and nurtured. To wit, Bonafede covers two slightly-off-the-beaten-trail Beatles' songs (well-known to Beatles fans, but hardly heavy-rotation radio hits), "Blackbird" and "She’s Leaving Home." The latter Bonefede and his trio open-up in the manner as one of the great Bill Evans trios might have...he muses about and caresses the melody, taking it to new places, while maintaining the yearning, melancholy qualities of the original. The Bonafede three give "Blackbird" a brisk, more up-tempo cast that’s like a cool, welcome splash of water in the face.

The opening track, "Sicilian Opening" is somewhat ironically named, as its punchy, jaunty, steady-rolling rhythms sound more like an intro to New Orleans. Drummer Marcello Pellitteri at times sounds like he’s on the borderline of too-busyness but, nope, he crisply propels the tune quite nicely, "leading" it far more than Bonafede does.

While SB acknowledges the influence of modernist piano aces Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner, I also detect that of Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976), the pianist "behind" the Peanuts cartoons. SB doesn’t so much "sound like" Guaraldi as he’s absorbed his gentle, genial melodiousness. Unlike some contempo-type jazz players, SB does not equate "attractive, pretty, and charming" melody with "selling-out." Nearly all of Opening’s 12 tunes (mostly SB originals) are models of direct, concise construction. And if you think I’m suggesting he’s distancing himself from the jazz tradition, listen to the sublimely and richly bluesy, noir-ish "bbbb" (His spelling honest), I like to think either or both Brubeck and Monk would approve. As do I.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Mark Keresman)Straight-Ahead - CD ReviewsMon, 22 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0600Pretend Its the Eng of the World by Bryan and the Haggardshttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/folk-jazz-cd-reviews/pretend-its-the-eng-of-the-world-by-bryan-and-the-haggards.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/folk-jazz-cd-reviews/pretend-its-the-eng-of-the-world-by-bryan-and-the-haggards.htmlThere hasn’t been a great deal of "crossover" between the spheres of jazz and country music. Charlie Parker was a fan of country music, and is reputed to have sat in wit…

There hasn’t been a great deal of "crossover" between the spheres of jazz and country music. Charlie Parker was a fan of country music, and is reputed to have sat in with country singer Ray Price’s band for an after-hours jam session in the early 1950s. Louis Armstrong recorded with Jimmie Rodgers in the ‘30s, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis performed together, bass ace Charlie Haden sang in a family country music group as a youth, and of course Bill Frisell recorded the classic disc Nashville. In concert, Merle Haggard’s band has been known stretch-out instrumentally, and one of Glen Campbell’s favorite guitarists is Django Reinhardt. Which brings us, Dear Reader, to the debut disc of Bryan and the Haggards, a combo of young cutting-edge jazz players taking Merle’s catalog into a Twilight Zone.

Featuring two members of the roguish avant-bop quartet Mostly Other People Do The Killing Jon Irabagon and Matthew "Moppa" Elliott this quintet uses classic Haggard tunes as a point of departure for some hearty, earthy, wild ‘n’ wooly free-charged improvisations. Bryan & the Haggards clearly have a heartfelt affection for the music of Merle (on of the standard bearers of the honky tonk style, which is way different from the assembly-line pap passing for "country music" on mainstream radio). They caress, parade, and benevolently chide the original melodies and then interpret them in a cheerfully, somewhat rowdy manner. Would Merle approve? Of some of it, I’d like to think but I think the yummy-rich bluesy wail of "Miss the Mississippi and You" would get approving smiles from Ray Charles and David "Fathead" Newman in the Great After-Hours Club in the Sky. Jon Lundbom’s electric guitar has a thick, fat, sound (with hints of Frisell and Sonny Sharrock influences) with a strong Western "twang." Herein is plenty of John Zorn-like skronk, Ornette Coleman elasticity, Mingue-like abandon, and the fleet blues-itude of Cannonball Adderley.... and plenty of swing, too. Plus Bryan & his fellows bring out and highlight the blues element that deep with Haggard’s style. The musically conservative need not apply, but the eclectic and open-minded will find Pretend to be a hep-cat-approved, neighbor-aggravating party.

As new(er) generations of jazz performers feel free to absorb non-jazz sounds, young "classical" composers have been reaching beyond the tradition of notated music. True, for decades composers have been impacted by jazz (Copeland, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Leonard Bernstein, etc.) and by the folk music of their environs and beyond (Bartok, Lou Harrison), but now they embrace [gasp] popular music: rock, R&B, turntablism, and sampling. Three such contemporary composing hepcats are represented here, performed by the Wisconsin-based contempo-classical ensemble Present Music. And believe it or leave it, this disc will be likely of (great) interest to fans of jazz, rock, and fusions thereof!

Armando Luna’s "Graffiti" consists of 11 "movements"/vignettes named for a inspiration/role model, including Benny Goodman, Chick Corea, G. Gershwin, and Alberto Ginastera. It’s a bracing kaleidoscope of 20th century modes and styles, with the accent on bracing there’s nothing academic or didactic about this as a whole. In point of fact, it recalls the more elaborate extended instrumental works of Frank Zappa (including his wry, pointed, sometimes zany humor). Elena Kats-Chernin’s "Village Idiot" is a tour through aspects of Americana Spike Jones, Charles Ives, Phillip Glass, Grant Green (listen close to the guitar part), Brian Wilson, Bernard Herrmann, plus hints of baroque forms. This name-dropping is not meant to imply this work is derivative Kats-Chernin’s breezy, good-humored composition evokes the essences of the aforementioned. Randall Woolf’s song-like, rhythmic and nostalgic "Motor City Requiem" is a tribute to pre-riots 1960s Detroit and features samples of that decade’s soul/R&B.

Although the following is redolent of cliché, it fits: Graffiti is an ideal disc for jazz/rock/classical/etc. fans thinking 21st century notated music is inhospitable, dry, a lot of noise, and/or academic. Try it it’ll be good for you.

One of the most hard-to-pin-down composer/performers drawing breath on planet Earth is Elliott Sharp. Classically trained (studied some under Morton Feldman), Sharp has composed string quartets; leads the blues band Terraplane featuring singer Eric Mingus (son of Charles), has led assorted groups in NYC (in the so-called "Downtown scene"), and engaged in free improvisation in varied contexts (including solo). Void Coordinates marks the return of E#’s nominally "rock" band Carbon, its first new recording in many years. The "rock" side of Sharp’s equation is mainly in the band’s instrumentation, volume, and some of the compositions’ pugnacious dynamics Carbon bears little resemblance to anything you might hear on mainstream airwaves (and even non-mainstream ones, for that matter). E#’s Carbon is an avant-garde (drawing from the outer limits of classical, jazz, rock & free improv) combo with a rock-based approach.

For the uninitiated, Carbon can evoke editions of King Crimson (circa Red and onward), the wonderfully fractured Dadaist Americana of Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, German experimentalists Can, Tony Williams’ original Lifetime (w/ J. McLaughlin, Larry Young & Jack Bruce) and monarchs of oddball guitar tunings Sonic Youth (in their more oblique moments). Void features collisions of minimalism, psychedelia, and Steve Lacy/Lol Coxhill-style soprano sax wails and trills ("Caldron"); gnarly, Bernard Herrmann-like pensiveness ("Eskatones"), and what sounds like traveling through a replicant’s (the artificial people in the movie Bladerunner) bloodstream "("Hypercubus"). Void is not music of theme/solos/theme nor is it a wild ‘n’ wooly free-for-all it is dense ensemble music although solos occasionally come to the fore. It’s dark, clangorous, wiry, somewhat cathartic, and except for the soprano sax and drums, you’ll wonder how they’re making that sound. For lovers of prog-rock and fusion with (a fierce, serrated) edge, this gets a thumbs-up.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Mark Keresman)Other - CD ReviewsSat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0600Raising The Bar by Magic Slim and the Teardropshttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/blues-cd-reviews/raising-the-bar-by-magic-slim-and-the-teardrops.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/blues-cd-reviews/raising-the-bar-by-magic-slim-and-the-teardrops.htmlOnly in the spheres of the blues and pool could the names "magic" and "slim" go so well together. Born in Mississippi, Midwest-based Magic Slim is one of our day’s primo…

Only in the spheres of the blues and pool could the names "magic" and "slim" go so well together. Born in Mississippi, Midwest-based Magic Slim is one of our day’s primo stylists of the modern Chicago blues. Originality is not Slim’s strong suit, but that’s not a knock. Sometimes it’s not what’s said, but how it rolls out the gullet, invested with meaning beyond words. This may be 12-bar blues town, but Magic Slim is the mayor. Slim has a BIG, rich, soulfully rollicking voice (with a wee touch of rasp) and a sharp, stinging, economical guitar style, rich with echoes of Elmore James, Magic Sam, and Freddie King.

Raising The Bar is no-nonsense, gimmick and guest star-free, old-school blues like one might hear in the taverns and clubs of Chicago, Detroit and Lincoln, Nebraska. The slow, stately smoldering "Sunny Road Blues" by Roosevelt Sykes has classy Slim singing a la Little Milton Campbell. Elmore J’s "I Can’t Hold Out" has got that Elmore James slide-thang goin’ on and that slippery churn recurs throughout this platter. Slim’s "Teardrops" provide a terse, tight groove, polished, but inspired. Slim and guitarist Jon McDonald play with a minimum of flash, as in excess), but toss in some tangy, tasty, unexpected notes in the course of their solos. Nothing "new" or innovative here, just solid, straightforward, heartfelt urban blues served up by a guy that’s mastered the form with no compromises and no muss, fuss or waxy build-up. No matter what time of day you play Raising The Bar, it’ll feel like night.

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Mark Keresman)Blues - CD ReviewsFri, 08 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0600Think Free by Ben Allisonhttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/folk-jazz-cd-reviews/think-free-by-ben-allison.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/folk-jazz-cd-reviews/think-free-by-ben-allison.htmlOne way to perpetuate an important tradition is to concentrate on the way it was back-when and strive to keep it like it was (an idealized golden age), another is to bui…

One way to perpetuate an important tradition is to concentrate on the way it was back-when and strive to keep it like it was (an idealized golden age), another is to build on the achievements of the past in contemporary ways. Less cryptically, the jazz greats of the past heard the music of their time(s) and worked what they heard into a singular approach. The bop era built upon Swing Era standards, popular Broadway melodies, and 20th century classical music. The soul-jazz era built upon bebop with an accent on blues and gospel (giving birth to one variant of funk), and so forth. There are new breeds of jazz players that are not limited to any narrow view of the jazz tradition they didn’t grow up with a set of tunes spanning the 1930s to the late ‘50s, they heard rock & roll, folk, funk, fusion, pop tunes of the 1960s-90s, whatever, and worked those influences into their approach to jazz.

I’ll come off my soapbox/podium now and talk about Ben Allison and his terrific combo Man Size Safe. This lot doesn’t take to labels easily Allison’s approach has aspects of fusion, but it’s not "fusion" as most of the collective We think of it. (In some ways it’s closer to the acoustic fusions of Oregon, David Grisman, and Bela Fleck.) There are aspects of bop and post-bop but they do not sound as if the "definition" of jazz was/is Blue Note/Prestige era circa 1956-1967. Allison sounds like he grew up with various styles and phases of rock and folk and works melodies and song forms into an improvisational context. There are no re-worked chord changes from standards Allison’s melodic content carries echoes of Radiohead, Bacharach/David, Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Carly Simon,‘70s R&B, Carole King, movie soundtracks (that John Barry fellow always had a way with a captivating melody!), and more. Further, Allison & MSS recall the chamber jazz of the 1970s and ‘80s glory days of ECM (Burton, Metheny, E. Weber) stinging electric guitar, stately elegiac violin, and lyrical, yearningly lovely trumpet lines intertwine with each other, making compact, harmonious, and wiry statements. Allison’s bass is warm and bittersweet, and he directs the music in a subtle and inclusive manner recalling Charlie Haden. Steve Cardenas is especially a joy he can summon up recollections Mahavishnu-era John McLaughlin and John Abercrombie, but also Jimmy Page, Bob Weir, and the more folk-like side of Pat Metheny. Jenny Scheinman’s elegant, sly, full-bodied violin evokes shades of Stephane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, and bluegrass/country/occasional jazz wizard Vassar Clements. There are sterling solos but more importantly Allison’s lot play like a true ENSEMBLE, a band, not just a bunch of hep players. Solos are joyfully concise, no water-treading here.

Oh, there are lots of great jazz players around, but Allison & Man Size Safe sound like they’re apart and away from most of the rest, like (as we hepcats said in the day) they got their own bag. Listen to him/them (and they are OUTSTANDING live)!

]]>morrice.blackwell@gmail.com (Mark Keresman)Folk Jazz - CD ReviewsSat, 25 Apr 2009 19:00:00 -0500Sings by Patty Watershttp://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/jazz-vocals-cd-reviews/sings-by-patty-waters.html
http://jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/jazz-vocals-cd-reviews/sings-by-patty-waters.htmlAs some people under 30 are no doubt tired of hearing, the 1960s was a time of innovation and upheaval. The ‘60s produced the Beatles and Albert Ayler, the Velvet Underg…

As some people under 30 are no doubt tired of hearing, the 1960s was a time of innovation and upheaval. The ‘60s produced the Beatles and Albert Ayler, the Velvet Underground and Motown, Tim Hardin and Tiny Tim. The spheres of pop music, jazz, classical, blues, and the avant-garde clashed, mingled, and cross-pollinated. There were some powerful and iconic female voices then: Janis Joplin, Tammy Wynette, Aretha Franklin, and Patty Waters. The latter did not achieve chart success - many have never heard of her. But the few that DID hear Patty Waters have never forgotten her, and her legacy and influence glows/grows even now.

Singer and pianist Patty Waters emerged from the underground/free/avant-garde jazz scene in New York in the mid-‘60s. She was inspired by Billie Holiday and no doubt the free players of that era -- in a roundabout way, Waters is to jazz singing what Albert Ayler was/is to the saxophone. Both expressed raw emotion in a manner that, depending on the listener (and the listener’s mood), was harrowing, naïve, cathartic, joyous, and unbearably alive. (To some, merely unbearable.) Her 1965 album Sings features eight tracks, most written by Waters, featuring just her voice and piano, and one track the fabulous pianist Burton Greene (still active!), drummer Tom Price, and bassist Steve Tintweiss. The latter is an unbelievable version of the Anglo-American folk standard "Black Is The Color of My True Love’s Hair." Her solo originals feel like ghostly fragments, the voice dry and autumnal, evoking Holiday and Helen Merrill, the melancholia severe and full of bittersweet ache. "Black Is.... " finds Waters reaching down into places in her soul, heart, and/or mind that few singers will ever approach, pushing her voice into a sort of sublime, feral hysteria. It’s as unsettling and amazing in the way Jimi Hendrix embraced "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock, along with Albert Ayler's "Ghosts" and the Velvet Underground's "I Heard Her Call My Name." Casual listening, this is mos def not. Avant-goddess Diamanda Galas acknowledges her as an inspiration - if the sounds of Linda Sharrock, Jeanne Lee, Yoko Ono, Joan La Barbara, Meredith Monk, Gisberg, Shelley Hirsch, etc. truly reach you, then you owe it to yourself to hear Patty Waters' Sings.